Waiver View: Week 4

The Packers won last night, by the way. I don't know what any person could see on that play that would give them any indication that the ball was caught by Golden Tate. And now no fan is allowed to use the "God Hates Seattle" gimmick, because clearly that's not true. Anyway...

Not to boast, but out of the 8 entities I had on last week's Waiver View, 6 of them ended up being startable in most leagues and the other two may have been playable in deeper ones. Andre Brown, Dennis Pitta, Andrew Hawkins, Martellus Bennett, even the Cardinals D/ST all had touchdowns. Mikel Leshoure ran for 100 yards and Danny Amendola topped 65 yards on 5 catches. Only Brent Celek was a letdown, but it should just be an off week for someone who still pulled 6 targets. I mean, he was playing an EXCELLENT defense.

Regardless, this week's Waiver View has a few repeats, but enjoyable nonetheless. Again, this isn't a list of players you should immediately drop your bench for, but rather weigh your expectations between those on your bench and those below.

Christian Ponder, QB - Minnesota Vikings - With a huge upset over the big, scary Niners, Ponder has leap-frogged his way into fantasy stardom. The knock against him is that he's on a run-first team and won't throw as much and that when he does, they're short passes. While he does only average around 31 attempts per game this season, he's completing about 70% of them. Even though they're dink-and-dunk passes, guys like Percy Harvin (and Jerome Simpson, who returns from suspension this week), Kyle Rudolph and Adrian Peterson have big play potential with their play-making ability. As Ponder continues to develop, look for his role to expand. He's a top QB2 at this point, and with favorable matchups in upcoming weeks, he could be a great bye week plug for your team.
Ownership: 5.9% ESPN, 14% Yahoo!, 2.4% NFL

Andy Dalton, QB - Cincinnati Bengals - The Red Rocket has put up 300+ yards and 3 TDs in both of the last two games. While head coach Marvin Lewis loves to run, when they do throw it's always a home run play. Understand that AJ Green, Andrew Hawkins and Jermaine Gresham all putting up great fantasy numbers HAS to result in their QB having great fantasy numbers. Though I'm still a believer in BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Dalton seems to be developing at an alarming rate continuing from last year. He may already be owned in your league, but if not he's worth grabbing.
Ownership: 87% ESPN, 51% Yahoo!, 53% NFL

Ryan Williams, RB - Arizona Cardinals - The Cardinals hate Beanie Wells. You really couldn't tell me otherwise. They spent a first-rounder on Ryan Williams while the team had gaping holes in the roster. The team intends to go with Williams long-term, and with Wells now suffering from turf toe (which is close to death for a runningback), that time might come sooner rather than later.
Ownership: 70% ESPN, 38% Yahoo!, 40% NFL

Andrew Hawkins, WR - Cincinnati Bengals - Look at last week's Waiver View and see why I like him as much as I do. Then look up last week's stats for some reinforcement. You're welcome.
Ownership: 6% ESPN, 28% Yahoo!, 3% NFL

Andre Roberts, WR - Arizona Cardinals - My "WHO?" pick special of the week (last week's was Hawkins). Since Kolb loves to throw for less than 5 yards at a time, Roberts is the beneficiary of Skelton's injury. With Beanie Wells out and teams being more and more capable of stopping the run, look for Roberts to have an expansive role, especially in PPR leagues. Kolb looks to him on third downs and in the redzone. Since he won't be gone in most leagues after this week, he is more someone to keep an eye than grabbing right away. I've got a good feeling about this kid, and so do the Cardinals.

Ownership: 1.3% ESPN, 6% Yahoo!, 0.7% NFL

Heath Miller, TE - Pittsburgh Steelers - The old guy's still got it. Roethlisberger is looking to him a ton and with the running situation struggling, they're throwing more. AND with the offensive line struggling, Big Ben's getting rid of it quicker. Nothing easier than a big reliable body right in front of you, Ben. Third-highest scoring fantasy TE in the NFL right now, which makes the likelihood of him being better than your current TE very high.
Ownership: 27.6% ESPN, 42% Yahoo!, 21.1% NFL

Kyle Rudolph, TE - Minnesota Vikings - Tight ends are on a carousel this season. Good games come around every once in a while, so you just have to hope your guy has them more frequently than the next. Ponder targets Rudolph a good amount and he's a quicker TE than most. If you look at the 2-yard hail mary Ponder threw against San Fran, it seems that he looks to him over Adrian Peterson even in redzone situations. Great upside play every week, and he's averaging over 40 yards a game, so you can't ever expect a shutout.

Ownership: 14.2% ESPN, 42% Yahoo!, 17.1% NFL

Arizona Cardinals D/ST - I'm ALL out on the Jets defense. No Revis means they need a completely new scheme. You know the TD:INT ratio differential between when he's on the field and when he's not? With Revis 15 touchdowns, 23 picks. Without? 5 touchdowns. ZERO picks. None. Drop them, trade 'em, do whatever you got to do, but starting them may not be the best thing for you. Grab the Cards D. Second best fantasy defense and Patrick Peterson has yet to return a kickoff or a punt. 

Ownership: 18.7% ESPN, 47% Yahoo!, 5.4% NFL

Guys I'm Not As High On, Though Others Seem To Be

Jeremy Kerley, WR - New York Jets - Yeah, he's great in the return game and Sanchez does look to him quite a bit. But he has low-number catches (4, 2 and 2) and the stretch they have coming up makes him near-unstartable. vs. SF, HOU, IND, @NE, MIA, @SEA, @STL. It's not looking good. You'd be depending too much on the big play when there HAS to be someone with more safety that you could play instead.

Ownership: 4.8% ESPN, 12% Yahoo!, 0.8% NFL

Ronnie Hillman, RB - Denver Broncos - He seems to be the appointed starter if Willis McGahee misses time with his rib injury, but even with Lance Ball semi-struggling it's a runningback-by-committee as best. Despite the fact that this is still a pass-first team, Hillman is a RB3 at the very highest. Gotta have better options out there.
Ownership: 0.1% ESPN, 9% Yahoo!, 0.6% NFL

Lamar Miller, RB - Miami Dolphins - Reggie Bush isn't even THAT hurt. Even if he was, he still has Daniel Thomas to split snaps with. And Jorvorskie Lane would likely get the short-yardage/goal-line work. And deservingly so, that's a badass name. Jorvorskie. Sounds like a diamond company. Or a Bond villain. Or maybe both! (None of the three viable backups here are worth picking up, by the way. No matter how cool the name)
Ownership: 0.4% ESPN, 3% Yahoo!, 0.6% NFL

Cecil Shorts, WR - Jacksonville Jaguars - I don't know why folks are getting cute and trying to plug every new name they see with the hopes that it works out, but stay away from Cecil Shorts. Besides having an awesome name, he plays in less than a quarter of the Jags' offensive snaps and only has 5 catches. Out of his 154 receiving yards, just about all of them came on two receptions. You're in really bad shape if you're reaching this far. If you want to take some risks, take up skydiving. Or become an NFL replacement ref.
Ownership: 0.4% ESPN, 2% Yahoo!, 1.5% NFL